Yesterday I was sprawled on my couch, after submerging in one of my scalding-hot, not-for-the-faint-of-heart, deliciously pain-relieving baths. I was contemplating dancing (“Must dance, must dance, must dance”) but just couldn’t get myself off the damn couch.

That’s when I remembered: The whole point of Dancing with Pain® is that we dance from wherever we are/wherever we can. So I began dancing with my head. Then my shoulders. Then my arms. Next thing I knew, I was bouncing around my living room for well over two hours.

It keeps happening, and it keeps amazing me every time. But I’m starting to really get it, believe in it, trust it, and internalize it.

On another but related note (i.e., one step at a time — literally), last month I finished reading Deepak Chopra’s book, Perfect Health. In it, he recommended a mild walk after every meal. Walking, especially on concrete, has been the most challenging of all exercises for me, following a knee and ankle injury about five years ago.

The problem has been that concrete is about the worst possible surface I can walk on, but the advantage of walking on concrete is that I can do it in my neighborhood — i.e., walk short distances in a radius of the safety of my home. Walking on dirt paths in parks is of course more fun and easier on the joints, but when I walk down the path, I can never be sure I’ll make it back.

So I decided to try a mild walk three times a day. I have been amazed at the difference it’s made: For starters, the thigh/groin injury that’s been plaguing me for months has calmed way the fuck down, enabling me to get back into biking. Second, I have found myself able to walk faster and easier — to the point that yesterday, in addition to my two plus hours of dancing, I was able to walk two rounds of 1.5 miles, without any induced pain.

I am so freakin’ excited!

Today I biked 12 miles, ate ice cream and hot dogs (in that order, because I keep kosher), then (after digesting) went and bounced around for 1.5 hours, at a local freestyle dance gathering.

For a while there, given all the trauma, pain, and resulting financial duress, I had the feeling that my life was ending. Now I feel it’s just beginning!